Post navigation

The Rainbow Children – Prince, Diversity and Creativity

I just got sent this superb 28 minute film of Prince by Hollywood World Studio. It is especially good at showcasing the diversity of Prince’s talent, exemplified by his album ‘The Rainbow Children”. Oh damn, it got taken off my YouTube. You will just have to put up with a substitute:

The band is a genuine meritocracy, irrespective of gender, race and so on e.g. women taking on less traditional roles of bass and sax.

The show is meticulously rehearsed and this leaves room for a little bit of on the fly improvisation, mostly conducted by Prince himself, who gives signals to the rest of the band to extend passages, put solo segues in and so on.

How many artists could you say this about?

The potential downside of Prince’s desire to play so many different styles is that this may have lost him some of his audience along the way. Some people prefer a repeat performance rather than something different?

Turning to business, feel free to make a contribution on the blog around these questions:

If you decide to change your product or service, how do you keep your customers whilst acquiring new ones?

How do you genuinely make diversity and meritocracy work to your advantage?

What can we learn from Prince about resilience, excellence and becoming a learning company?

A book extract about Prince from my last book ‘Sex, Leadership and Rock’n’Roll’ is available for FREE. Simply e-mail me with Prince in the title (peter@humdyn.co.uk) for your copy. I explore more of Prince’s personal qualities and the relationship with becoming an agile, ingenious and innovative company within the new book “The Music of Business“, acclaimed by Harvey Goldsmith.

Well, just forgetting about the links to business for the moment, that was a great way of relaxing after work!!! On the question of Diversity, in the US, 14.5% of all men are 6 feet or taller…Among CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies, this figure is 58%. Prince shows success is not all about height…although he does wear his heels to give himself a few extra inches!!!!! For me in all seriousness, I took from it that its vital to have an effective leader who leads from the front, but just as important is the team around him – and what a team they are on that video.

The question on if you decide to change your product or service, how do you keep your customers whilst acquiring new ones – was one that came up today in a business meeting. The issue was whether offering a cheaper product as part of their service could de-value the brand they had built up. Came to the conclusion that for them at least, as long as the new service is clearly differentiated in what it offers and it is clear why its that price, then value of the brand remains and is enhanced. E.g De Vere hotels moving into the 3* arena with its De Vere Village brand. Very interesting, thanks Peter

Somewhere in between pedagogy and andragogy, there is a place. A sweet spot. Where responsive intuitive leadership enables conflict, curiosity and true learning. Superseded by doing something different, because you choose to. You’ll find me there.